Untitled Sermon (8)

Grace, Mercy and Peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen

(Hold Bible, Raise right hand) “I swear to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing, but the truth, so help me God.”

That’s the oath a witness or someone testifying in court would swear to before taking the stand to give their account.

However it’s not only witnesses in court that promise to tell the truth, but in fact even to become a Pastor, especially in the LCMS, you have to take a oath that you will tell the truth in accordance with everything we confess and teach about the Bible.

But let me ask you this, how do you know if the person who took those oaths is actually telling the truth?

Well for the witness in court you don’t, I mean you hope they are telling the truth, and there are serious punishments for lying in court, but really the only way you will actually know is if the evidence tells you they are lying.

But what about the Pastor? How do you know if he is telling you the truth?

I mean there are a lot of Pastor’s in the world and a lot of different Christian denominations, and it’s not like the truth being preached in pulpits hasn’t been corrupted before. In fact it is actually quite commonly corrupted.

And since it is Reformation Sunday, we would be remiss if we didn’t talk about the most famous example of this, at least for Lutherans, that is the Reformation.

For you see that’s what Martin Luther had discovered. Luther discovered that the truth about God’s Word was being corrupted by the Roman Catholics and the people were being misled. So he set out to change the churches teachings, which began with him writing 95 theses showing how the Roman Catholic Church was misleading the people. Thus starting the Reformation as we know it.

But what about you how are you to know that what you are hearing today is still the truth that Martin Luther discovered and taught so many years ago?

Well the answer to this is actually fairly simple and is revealed to us today in our Gospel lesson from John Chapter 8.

Well the answer to this is actually fairly simple and is revealed to us today in our Gospel lesson from John Chapter 8. So let’s put on our detective hats and see what we can find.

First, we get our scene. We see that there is a conversation happening between Jesus and it says the Jew who had believed in Him, but we know from the surrounding context that the disciples, the Pharisees and many other unbelieving Jews were also there.

Then Jesus says to them, (Read Jesus words from verses 31-32)

Okay, so we have some clues here. We know that to know the truth you must be a disciple or follower of Jesus, and that in order to be a follower of Jesus you must abide or stay in Jesus Word. Lastly, we also are told that this truth will set us free. All helpful, yes, but not quite the answer to our question yet. We continue on…

(Read verse 33)

Now the Jews make a good point here. I mean sure they were under Roman control here and had been enslaved by the Egyptians in the past, but their connection through Abraham gave them favored status with God and in that respect they were slaves to no one. But this answer is an answer we can relate with as well. I mean how many of us have ever been enslaved before? Me neither. So now we are left with more questions. When we with the Jews ask what Jesus means by “you will become free?”

Well Jesus doubles down on his next answer and says, (Read verse 34 and 35)

Ah ha! So that’s how we are slaves, we are slaves to sin! And we are in the house, but not forever… But who is this son and we still don’t know what the truth is that sets us free?

Read (verse 36)

Now wait a minute I thought this was supposed to be a clear and easy revealing of the truth?

Well it is? But you have to look at our final clue. If you look at the word son in verse 36, you see that unlike the one in verse 35, this one is capitalized.

That’s because this isn’t just any son, no this Son is the Son of God. That son is Jesus. He is the truth. And He is the only one that can and did save us from our slavery to sin.

That’s because this isn’t just any son, no this Son is the Son of God. That son is Jesus himself. He is the truth. And He is the only one that can and did save us from our slavery to sin.

And this is what Luther had discovered was missing from the church. You see the Roman Catholic Church in Luther’s day was misleading the people by altering the truth, by telling them that they needed to do good works in order to earn their salvation. A message which is still prominent even today. For you see even though it isn’t true, we all like to think that “surely there is something I have to do earn my salvation.” Even Luther thought that for a little bit. But if it’s not true why do we think that way and why is that message still shared in some pulpits today.

It’s because as Jesus said, we are all slaves to sin. And because we have been given the Law by God, our sinfulness has been revealed to us. We know the sinful things that we do and our minds and hearts are so law oriented that we think and know that we deserve judgment and condemnation. And that there is no possible way that God could love us enough to send His son to die and rise again for the forgiveness of ALL of our sins. Surely there has to be one or two sins that got through that I have to pay for.

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, at the beginning of this sermon I posed the question: How do you know if your Pastor is telling you the truth?

The answer is Jesus.

For there is one truth that is never changing and always stays the same and that truth, is Jesus Christ.

And that is why Pastor Roeglin and I stand up here week after week and preach a variation of the same message to you, because when you have the truth, when you have the GOSPEL, there is NOTHING else.

For that is why we are here, to worship and receive Jesus Christ.

Think about it, we are all baptized into Christ’s saving work and given faith, in a few minutes we will all receive and taste Christ’s body and blood, and I stand here before you preaching to you the very word of Jesus Christ.

All that we do points to the truth that is Jesus Christ.

For it is as the Apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians chapter 2:

And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. So that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.

Paul preached nothing but Christ crucified, Luther preached nothing but Christ crucified, and so today we preach to you nothing but Christ crucified.

For it is through Christ’s death and resurrection that you have been made righteous before God and given the gift of eternal life in heaven with Him.

Paul says it best in our epistle lesson today from ,

But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.

This faith is alive and active in each and every one of you and the Son that is Jesus Christ has set you free from your sin. Nothing that I could possibly say to you is more amazing or truthful than that. Amen.